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RE: FEEDING MY plump LITTLE DOG, "BABY"
My little rescued dog Baby, is a bit plump! She weighs 10.3 pounds, but should be more like 8-9.(She is a pomeranian/yorkshire mix). She has been on a holistic type of canned food called "Canidae". After working with her on various levels, one of them being: eating dog food, I finally found this one, which agrees with her digestive system. (When I first rescued her, from an abusive home, where sadly, she was beaten and kept in a cage for 2 yrs., she had ALOT of problems, one of them being with foods - diarrhea, stomach pain etc. because at that hellhole, she was made to beg for food and they threw her treat biscuits and table scraps (she was never given dog food in a bowl on the floor)....so my question! I feed her 1/8 can in am and 1/8 can in pm. Although the feeding instructions say: Feed dogs: a can a day for every 20 pounds;therefore, if I followed their instructions, I should be feeding her 1/2 can a day (because she is 10 pounds)! But, because this food is so rich and fattening, I only feed her 1/4 can total each day.Because she is still very hungry at this amount of food, I add either 2 tbsp.of boiled potatoes, or 2 tbsp. of grain, such as rice or bulghar etc.(Agreeable with her stomach......I would like some advice as to which of these additions are more fattening, and/or what else could I try so that she might lose a bit, as she is a bit too plump for her size.(For exercise, she plays and runs about, with her cat friend, Ginger. Ideally she should be going for long walks, but, unfortunately, I am unable to take her, because of my physical condition....just in case any of you were going to say this!) THANKS!

Graylin gives some good advice. Potatoes are not very fattening, without butter etc added, but, they are a starch, and as such can add pounds.
Potatoes are not as nutritious as other foods for her.
Hve you seen a vet about the low fat foods for dogs?
Lamb and rice foods are available for dogs with digestive problems and they are low in fat, so help with the weight.
Science diet, Walthams, all the major dog foods (not what you buy in supermarkets) are available in the lamb-rice formulas.
Trying a few bites of this at each feeding, along with the food she is getting now, should help her taste buds and her digestive system adjust to the lamb-rice food. Gradually increase the amount of lamb-rice, to present food, until she is on the lamb-rice exclusively.
I can appreciate your problem with walking, as I too am disabled and not able to walk with my dogs.
Do you have a yard for her to play in?
My dogs know I can't run and play with them, but they are content for me to sit in my yard swing, and watch them play.
I can trows a ball for a short time, for them to chase, and I do other things to get them to exercise.
They like to chase a flashlight beam, so I do it inside and outside, when it is a bit dark. I shine the flashlight on the floor or ground, and move it around, and they chase.
Indoors, you could roll a ball on the floor. Your little baby will chase a cat toy ball too, and she and the cat can both chase it. Try shining a flashlight on the floor, and letting them chase the moving beam. Get a small flashlight thet shines a small spot beam.
Long walks are not the only kind of exercise, and when you can't do that, you find alternatives. any kind of walking, running etc is good exercise.
Get small stuffed doggy toys to toss for her to retrieve or a small ball, like a tennis ball etc.
Some do not care for tennis balls or stuffed toys, as some dogs will chew them up and get choked swallowing the pieces etc.
Of course, if she does this, you will have to stop using them. I have been giving my dogs these toys for over 60 years, and have not had a bad situation yet, in well over a hundred dogs.
I take in rescue dogs, and foster dogs and cats for the rescue groups I work with.
I can get on a soapbox and scream for hours about what I would like to see done to people who abuse children and animals in their care.
I would love it if all people had to pass a test to determine their mental fitness to raise a child or animal, before they can have one intrusted to them, but it will not happen.
That would violate their civil rights.
I guess children and animals do not have civil rights.
Find ways to get your little ones moving inside the house, and in your yard, if you have one. Just because you can't go for long walks, doesn't mean you can get them actively moving, and you will have a blast watching their antics.
How old is the dog, and what does your vet say about the additional pounds. I had a little terrier that was rolly poly, but her vet said she was healthy inspite of the chub, and she lived to be 14 & 1/2 years old.
Our vet said it was about 3 to 4 years longer than her breed's life expectancy.
Considering her ill treatment and the health problems she had from it, get your vet's ok about a lot of exercise. If she is prone to heart problems or might develope them, because of past problems, the extra weight may not be as bad for her, as too much exercise.
Our little four legged ones have al the same health problems that affect humans, and we have to take precautions not to bring on more problems.
Bless you for taking in this baby, and giving her such a loving home, and good care.
Have you read the Rainbow Bridge?
It is a beautiful thing, and I believe it.
It makes me glad that all the little ones I have mothered, as well as my children and other loved ones, will be with me in eternity.
My heaven on earth is having my children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren , and all my animals. It would not be a heaven to me, if I am not going to see them on the other side too.
Go to
www.petloss.com
and read the things in there. Be sure to read the Rainbow Bridge. It will ake you cry, but it is a good cry.

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